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Nerevic Empire
The Neveric Empire, diverse and powerful, lies on the north-eastern peninsula of Yantir. Sprawling primarily across the northern coast, and bordered by the Seared Lands and two oceans, the Nerevic Empire enjoys power, wealth, and prestige, but is beset by a multitude of internal struggles and lingering crises that threaten to disrupt and fracture the relatively new empire. Regions The Neveric Empire is split legally and administratively into six different regions, each with their own local customs and culture, but each subservient to the First House in Nereva. The regions, and their ruling Houses, are as follows: Nereva, ruled by House Nerev, The First House Orethi, ruled by House Oreth, The Second House The Anointed Lands, ruled by House Morn, The Third House Uvirith, ruled by House Ilms, The Fourth House Marand, ruled by House Velas, the Fifth House Sadrith, ruled by House Delym, The Seventh House (as of 9DE rule over Sadrith was stripped of House Sarotha, the Sixth House, and granted to House Delym.) The Houses It is worth noting that bar House Sarotha, each House is named after the Saint that came from its ranks. Upon the successful Invoking of the Saint (see Nerevic Religion and Culture), the House is renamed in the Saint's honour. The previous names of the House are considered irrelevant, and even offensive, since their use is seen to ignore the most important contribution of the House to the Neveric Empire. The Dawn of the Exarchs And the Silence of the Gods The arrival of the Exarchs came at a tumultuous time in Nerevic history. A growing rift between House Sarotha and the other five Houses had emerged since the disappearance of Sarotha in 670LN, demonstrated by the radical anti-Temple writings of Psions in Sadrith such as Radac Sarotha. Events came to a head during the War in the Silence, when Radac led a group of psionic students and teachers in an uprising in the city, claiming to do so for Sarotha's legacy and the restoration of the House. The uprising was put down by the Armiger presence in the city, though with great destruction and chaos. Radac himself was killed, but many of his followers fled south into the Ashlands. The court at Nereva feared that Radac's followers would travel to Jishol and bring the blasphemous hordes of undead and mages to bear against the Nerevic Empire. At a time when the borders of the Empire are continuously pressed by marauding bands from the Tyrant Thrones, the capital was thrown into a panic over this prospect. The result was a series of Decrees from the Grand Fane in 13DE, which outlawed many of the Psionic schools in Sadrith, and declared any students or teachers not in Armiger custody to be outlaws. Many in the Nerevic Empire now pray fervently for the emergence of a new great leader, on par with Saint Nerev himself, to shepherd them from these troubled times. History Early History Originally established in Orethi, the Empire was nothing more than a small client kingdom of Quel'Doran in its earliest days. Indeed, it was House Oreth that ruled at that time, and many of the Houses that would rise to control vast swathes of the Empire were as of yet unformed or undistinguished. War and struggle among the client states saw House Oreth expand its holdings, but ultimately the kingdom remained unable to expand further into the Quel'Doranian colonies, fearing harsh reprisals. The emergence of Saint Nerev, The First Saint, saw a dramatic shift in the fortunes of the peoples of Orethi. Claiming to have received visions from the Lady of Candles ordering him to break the shackles of his people and drive the vampiric elves from the land, Nerev lead what would subsequently be called a holy army against the "dark elves of the North". Nerev successfully conquered swathes of Quel'Doran territory, and as the campaign continued and the Long Night in northern Etan began, the armies of Orethi were ever more successful. In following Nerev and wiping out any tainted by vampirism, the peoples of Orethi believed they were ridding the world of a great evil. Although thousands of Quel'Doranian elves lived in the colonies, many evacuated over the course of the seemingly endless campaign, which saw Saint Nerev grow from a young general to an old and wizened warlord. The final battle of the campaign, fought against the retreating legions of Quel'Doran, would later be called Nerev's Triumph, and a city bearing his name was founded on the battlefield. Consolidation and Expansion The building of the walls of Nereva was barely completed before his death, sending the nation into mourning. It was during this mourning that Saint Nerev was first Invoked, causing the creation of the title of Saint, as well as a large and active cult. House Nerev subsequently rose to great prominence, eclipsing the power of House Oreth. Nereva became the capital of the new empire, and there was a brief period of peace before The Time of Two Saints. Although the new Empire was still surrounded by the Quel'Doranian colonies, the civil wars that wracked Quel'Doran at this time meant there would be no counter-attack, and the peoples of Nerev and Orethi were content to count their dead and treat their wounded. The Time Of Two Saints Following the consolidation of power in Nereva, the population of the Empire increased rapidly due to access to the rich farmland of The Anointed Lands. It was at this time that two new holy leaders emerged, Oreth and Morn. Although Oreth was a high-ranking Cleric in the Temple, Morn was a poor Oracle born in the Anointed Lands. The former worked primarily with the army, healing the wounded and leading groups of Armigers into battle against the Quel'Doranian colonies, which remained the primary power in the region, bordering the Nerevic Empire on nearly all sides. The population growth had filled the void left by the countless dead from Nerev's Campaign, and with new soldiers, the impetus to expand the Empire returned. Morn, by contrast, was blind from birth, and thus unfit for the new campaigns. Instead she took up a smith's hammer and a small anvil, and travelling around The Anointed Lands, she crafted wondrous arms and armour for young soldiers leaving for the borders. Working from dusk till dawn, she accepted whatever materials she was given, and although her eyes could not see, her weapons and shields were unmatched in quality; unbreakable and never dulling, their bearers went on to win key victories in the wars. Eventually, it is said, the two Saints met and fell in love. Oreth's campaigns took him south to the city of Uvirith, where a three-year siege took place, eventually broken by Oreth's daring but fatal assault from the coast. Morn, when hearing of her lover's death, is said to have taken all the weapons in her workshop and reforged them into ploughs, claiming that peace, not war, was the future of the Empire. Upon Morn's natural death and Invocation, she joined her lover Oreth in Sainthood. Marand and Sarotha: The Ends of the Empire Despite Morn's dedication to pacifism, the wars against the colonies continued with fervor. Unable to resist the armies of the Nerevic Empire, the Quel'Doranians were pushed back in the west to their stronghold at Sadrith, on the Black River. Built of black basalt and towering above the rugged landscape, Sadrith was besieged for over ten years before the inhabitants capitulated. Control of the city was gifted to House Belis, who would later be known as House Sarotha. It was during this siege that an unprecedented event occurred within the Empire. The city of Marand, populated almost entirely by Half-Dwarves and Dwarves, requested that it be subsumed into the Nerevic Empire. This sudden and unusual request was in fact preceeded by decades of work by Saint Ilms the Missionary, who had converted the majority of the population of Marand to worship The Lady of Candles and the Saints. The acquisition of Marand marked the final city to fall under the Empire's control, and the peculiar customs of the Dwarves would have a resounding impact on the daily lives of all citizen in the Empire. Saint Velas The Crowned Although Saint Ilms have converted the Dwarves of Marand, he had not attempted to subvert or dismantle their ancient custom of implanting the Ayem, a chitinous parasite that prolonged the life of the host. It is unclear how Saint Ilms felt about this ritual, which was and is pervasive among the Dwarves of Marand, for its obvious benefits. However, the beneficial effects of the Ayem caused it to be exported throughout the Empire, becoming a de facto sign of nobility and wealth. In reaction, Diviner Velas, at that point a high ranking member of the Temple, wrote a series of pamphlets in which he argued the life-lengthening properties of the Ayem were a gift from The Lady of Candles to her followers for their continued struggle against Quel'Doran. Following the wide publication of these pamphlets, Saint Velas became the first ranking Temple official to undergo an Ayem implantation, and after his death and Invocation, would be thereafter known as Saint Velas the Crowned. Sarotha's Folly In approximately 652LN, a powerful Psion named Sarotha led the armies of Nereva and Sadrith across the Northern Ashe Wastes, with the intent of destroying one of the last remaining Quel'Doranian colonies on Yantir. While undertaking the journey however, a sudden and unexpected eruption buried the armies, and possibly Sarotha himself, in ash, rock and lava, leaving only a few scouts and stragglers to make their way back to Sadrith to report the disaster. Immediately after the funeral rites were completed, an Invocation of Sarotha was attempted by his house, who renamed themselves House Sarotha in his honour. Unfortunately, the Invocation failed, marking another personality in the Empire as un-Invoked. Although naturally the vast, vast majority of deaths are not followed by Invocations, there was a general depression in the Empire that no Saint had been created in over three centuries, since the death of Delym the Redeemer. This led to speculation by House Sarotha that their namesake was still alive, as they refused to believe such a powerful Psion, and such a celebrated war leader could pass without Invocation. This presumption of Sainthood and almost religious faith in an un-Invoked soul marked the beginning of a rapidly growing rift between House Sarotha and the Temple as a whole. Category:Location Category:Organisations Category:Vhir Category:Nerevic Empire